Cheapest Way to Engrave Steel
The cheapest way to engrave steel is also the oldest way to engrave. Hand engraving is used to personalize items. Hand engraving has changed little since mankind first began using steel to make things.
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Plan Your Design
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Sketch the design you plan to engrave on steel. Measure the steel to be sure your design will fit.
Transfer Your Design
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Clean the steel with soap and water. Dry before transferring your design onto the steel. If your design is simply engraving script or calligraphy, then you may want to work freehand. Mark a box with permanent marker where you plan to put the lettering. The box should reflect where the lettering begins and ends as well as the height of the lettering. If your design is more complicated, then use carbon paper to transfer your design. Paste your sketch on a piece of black carbon paper. Put the carbon paper on the steel. Trace over the design with a pencil. The carbon paper will transfer the design onto the steel once the tracing is complete.
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Engrave
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Use a hand graver to cut your transferred design into the steel. Slide the graver across the steel following your design. Cut different width lines by rolling the graver on its side as you cut. Do not hold the graver tight and dig deep with the graver. Just slide the graver along the steel to cut. Engravers typically cut curves and circles counterclockwise.
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References
- "The Complete Metalsmith: Professional Edition"; Tim McCreight; 2005
- "Metalsmithing"; Robert Ebendorf, Michael Jerry, and Thomas Markusen; 1973
- "Jewelry: Fundamentals of Metalsmithing"; Tim McCreight; 1997
- "Jewelry Concepts and Technology"; Oppi Untracht; 1982
- "The Complete Book of Jewelry Making"; Carles Codina; 2006
